I was wondering if there is any ambiguity with sentences that have adjectives qualifying a noun, especially regarding the が particle.
For example:
1.) 僕が好きな人
Can this sentences have an ambiguous double meaning of "The person that I like" and "The person that likes me"?
Likewise
2.) 僕が食べたい魚
Can this mean either "fish I want to eat" or "fish that wants to eat me"?
to make the meaning of this sentence clearer would
3.)僕を食べたい魚-
ONLY mean "fish that want to eat me" as the only interpretation?
Is there a go to interpretation for qualifications like this or does one have to identify exclusively via context unless there are further details provided?
For example, more detailed, clearcut sentences
4.) 僕が好きなところ - This sentence would ONLY mean "The place that I like/My Favorite place"
or
5.) 野菜を食べるのが好きな人 - In this sentence the only interpretation could be "People that like eating vegetables"
Thanks
Answer
1.) [僕]{ぼく}が[好]{す}きな[人]{ひと}
Can this sentences have an ambiguous double meaning of "The person that I like" and "The person that likes me"?
First, that is not a sentence; It is only a noun phrase (or a relative clause). "The person that I like." is not a sentence in English, either.
The answer is affirmative. It can mean both, but to mean "The person that likes me.", it is more natural to say 「僕のことが好きな人」.
2.) 僕が[食]{た}べたい[魚]{さかな}
Can this mean either "fish I want to eat" or "fish that wants to eat me"?
Strictly speaking, no. It can only mean "the fish that I want to eat".
In Japanese, we DO NOT say 「~~たい」 to talk about a third party's desire (in this case, the fish). We say 「食べたがっている」. This is a common mistake among J-learners.
「僕(のこと)を食べたがっている魚」 = "The fish that wants to eat me"
See here for details: Aren't がる and たがる the same thing?
to make the meaning of this sentence clearer would
3.)僕を食べたい魚-
ONLY mean "fish that want to eat me" as the only interpretation?
It is missing 「たがる」 as I mentioned above. You need to use it to talk about the fish' desire.
Is there a go to interpretation for qualifications like this or does one have to identify exclusively via context unless there are further details provided?
Depends on the phrase. As I stated, 「僕が食べたい魚」 can only mean "the fish I want to eat" with or without further context, but the phrase would be ambiguous if one did not know about たい vs. たがる.
Context is important as Japanese is a most contextual language, but your own knowledge of the grammar and such is equally important.
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